the winchesters and the west
by tina titan
Summary: this is a one shot spin off from the faults in our lives chapter ten.


it should have been like any other job. Get a tip from a source, something about a friend of a friend's kid or whatever, drive to the city, destroy the mofo that decided to rear its ugly face, and high tail it out of the city. it should have been like any other job, the kinds we've been handling since we were kids. since the night our mother went up in flames on the ceiling.

"Dean," My younger brother, sam, says," You ok?"

I shake the last remnants of sleep from my mind. Sam has been driving the impala since we hit the california border. i've been asleep for the last four or five hours," Yeah, just curious as to why in the hell we have to meet this chick at three am."

"She said it was urgent and that she had heard we were the best," He drives past a sign that reads **JUMP CITY: HOME TO THE TEEN TITANS**," ANd it was the only time she was sure she could be in the city."

"At three am?" He nods," What the fuck does this chick do?"

"She's a superhero." I let that sit in my stomach. I consider myself fairly open minded but let's be honest. little kids should not be armed and running around fighting things they don't understand. and yes i am speaking from experience. sam drive through the city, which is quiet except for the purr of our engine and a few drunks. He pulls up to this creepy ass apartment building on a nearly abandoned street. a street lamp flickers ominously overhead. despite the sweltering end of July heat, i notice a small cloud of mist escape my lips as i whistle.

"that is most definitely a haunted house," the apartment buildings were four stories, falling apart at the seams and several windows were cracked. Sam and i decide to arm ourselves before this chick shows up.

"Here, Dean," Sam says, a sly smirk on his face," you can be in charge of this."

He tosses me a flashlight. I take the opportunity to reach up and smack him across the head with the flashlight. So far the only way i can maintain my status as big brother is the fact that i can still kick his ass," I can make you wait in the fucking car, little brother."

He has the nerve to laugh. I load my gun with salt and make sure i have the stuff we need to destroy this son of a bitch.

"So what's this chick's name?" I ask.

"Janey West, i think," Sam loads his gun," that's what it sounded like. There was a lot of noise from her end."

A car turns down the street. from the street lights, i see the chrome and blue details, as well as the two teenagers that seem to be talking causally. Maybe seeing two men with guns is nothing new in Jump City. the car pulls over a few yards away. the passenger side opens and i see the outline of a girl. A tube is tossed over her shoulders and she pulls something that i can't make out in the dark from under the seat. I notice the vague outline of a boy in the driver seat, with hair like mine but it curved up to a point in a more elegant way.

"Ok, Mom," I hear the girl say sarcastically. She had an Californian accent, hitting her consonants oddly. She strides over to Sam and me. There is no hesitation in her walk and over confidence in her face. She Tilts her head to one side," Sam and Dean Winchester?"

"Janey?" I ask.

"Jania," She pronounces it slowly and clearly. I already don't trust this girl.

"Er, Sam," My brother holds out his hand to her. Jania shakes it politely. Now that she's in the light i take a better look at her. Jean shorts and a green tank top that shows her toned arms and legs. a pair of old combat boots on their last leg of life," This is my brother, Dean."

She looks me up and down," Charmed."

"Is your friend joining us or what?" I ask. She turns to the car that dropped her off. She waves the boy away impatiently. with her back to me, i see that the tube she put on her back was a quiver of arrows. Gripped tightly in her hand was a compound bow. Jania turns back to us.

"No. he is not. He's handling patrol t-" she's cut off by the rustling of wings. I'm actually impressed at how fast she reacts. i blink and she has her bow drawn, an arrow pointed at Castiel," who the fuck are you?"

"Jania, is it?" Sam asks. jania nods, never taking her eyes off our angel," this is castiel. he's an angel of the lord."

She turns to us, her bow not lowering or moving from Cas," I'm an atheist. try again."

"You are Jania west?" Cas asks, in his deep monotone," I have met your aunt and uncle- Jade and Roy, was it?"

Her ears go bright red. she grits her teeth," First that was a joke. I believe you, ok? I live with four fucking aliens, two fucking demons, and my brother runs at the speed of light. i'm fairly open minded. Second mention my Aunt and uncle again and i will find a way to destroy you."

"wait you live with demons?" I'm already thinking of exorcisms and holy water as she cuts me off.

"Quarter biologically. their grandfather, on top of being a total douche bag, was a full demon. Hurt them, and i will send you to hell."

"Been there, done that, got the damn t-shirt." She looks older than she probably is. I'd guess about 19.

"Ok," Sam the mediator steps in," Jania, you said you have a file for us."

"Yes." She taps on her watch. it looks like anything you would get at a any store. Black, slim faced with silver buttons. She pauses before reaching for her arrows. I make a grab for her wrist. she judo flips me, slamming my body into the concrete. Sam struggles to stop himself from laughing. Jania pulls out a sandwich from a pocket in the quiver," Dude, i was getting a sandwich. my metabolism is pretty fucked up and i need to eat a lot."

I grumble under my breath as i get up. She smirks, chomping on her damn sandwich and pulling up a screen on her watch. An ugly old guy's face stares at us.

"Meet Mr. William Jones, 76. lived in this building until about two years ago when he died."

"Naturally, murder, or suicide?" Sam asks.

"Unsure. the police did a search of the building and no footage or prints. they called in professionals-"

"Lemme guess, you?" i smirk.

"Me? no, i don't have the patience to dust for prints," she chuckles," they called in my friends, Sophie and Lila. But they didn't find anything. i can tell you it wasn't natural, however."

"how?" sam actually seems to be impressed by this girl's act.

"He had a bullet in his brain. a gun was found matching the bullet, but the prints had been wiped clean," she slides to the next picture. in it is this young couple and a little girl," this is the blakes. Moved in two, three months after jones died."

"Two months?"

"in this city, you'd be surprised how little death or danger freaks people. unless of course it's a metahuman, then everyone loses their damn minds," she sounds bitter about this," anyway, they lived here for about a year, but the husband, John, died, same as Jones. all i got from his widow was they fought about their daughter, ella, the night he died. Ella had a rare blood disease. She died about three months after her dad. beautiful ceremony."

i hate that. i don't think that anyone deserves to die, but kids should never die young," So when you say the same…"

"I mean exactly. bullet with the same marks as in Jones. same fracturing and blood splattering. then a few drunk morons broke in last week and they all were killer. bullets to the brain."

"sounds like an angry spirit to me," i check the safety on my gun when Jania yells.

"Watch where you're pointing that, Jackass," she finally lost that over confident look. she looks scared, like i was going to shoot her.

"Sorry. Jesus christ."

"We should split up," Cas looks at sam," you and i will go urn the bones."

"Miss priss and i will keep the mofo busy while you do that."

"Miss priss? Deana, i live with six teenagers and three toddlers. miss priss is an insult we use when we're sick or tired. now let's go so Samantha and Cassie can burn the damn body."

"Cassie?" Cas has never gotten the whole snarky deal.

"Would you prefer castiella?" Jania gives him a smile that i guess could classify as kind," I'm teasing, cas."

"No, i understand. by calling us by the feminine versions of our names you attack our masculinity and try to make us feel less like men. it's quite funny." Cas does his weird ass laugh. Jania looks at me, adjusts her grip on the bow and marches to the building.

"Let's go, Deana."

"Something tells me i'm going to be stabbing this bitch before the end of the night."

Sam grabs my arm," Man, cut her a break. she's lost a lot of people."

i raise my eyebrow at him," And we haven't"

"Just talk to her before you decide to hate to her." i grumble an answer before following the bitch into the building.

"So, uh, that thing you said to cas, explaining that it was a joke-"

"my brother has Asperger's. He takes things super literal. Cas got the same look Matt does when he doesn't get a joke. watch your step up here," She moves to a staircase.

"You have a brother."

"Yeah. he's a year older than me. we share a birthday."

"What does-does he- you know have powers?"

"i told you. he runs at the speed of light."

"Do you know batman?"

"Yeah. He's my friend Sophie's grandfather. She hates him."

"How the hell does anyone hate batman?! IT'S BATMAN!"

"to you maybe. but the superheroes that everyone knows as the justice league to us are our aunts and uncles. we've never grown up seeing them a different way or as anything else."

we check several apartments in silence. Jania tries to break it," So Sam's your little brother?"

"How'd you know that?"

"I'm a little sister. believe it or not, younger siblings always look up to their older siblings the same way. like this is a person that will make your life a living hell, but at the same time, would lay down their life to make you smile." We stop at the stairs. she pulls out a baggie of carrots and holds it out to me. i take one to be polite.

"So you don't seem too keen to ask questions about me and my brother."

"you were born in Lawrence, Kansas to Mary and John Winchester. Your mother died six months after Sam was born. You and Sam grew up in motels and a used 1967 chevy impala," I give her a grudging look of awe which she returns with a smirk," i could go on but my point is made. you really think i would have called you before checking you o- DEAN, DUCK!"

her tone had changed to stern and commanding. i duck. her bow fires and i hear a yell. turning, i see the old guy, Jones, with blood gushing from under his silver hair, disappear. Jania pulls another arrow and turns, searching for something else.

"What the hell did you fire at that thing?" I turn my back to her, so we're looking in opposite directions.

"Arrow coated in salt. it won't work long, and when he gets back he's going to be so fucking pissed," we head to the old guy's apartment. it's dusty, the floorboards creak, and mildew spreads along the walls. all and all ten out of ten on the creepiness scale.

"DEAN!" Jania yells. i turn firing salt into the dude whose daughter died. Jania fires and arrow that misses my ear by half a centimeter, killing a bastard that was sneaking up behind me. It's scary how well we fight together. she fires dozens of arrows into teenagers and the older guys. i fire salt into everything she doesn't see. After the old guy goes up in flames, she turns to me," Good job. you're really talented with that gun."

"You're not half bad with that bow," the compliment hurts, but i see that it actually means a lot the her," how long have you been using it?"

"started when i was around five, but i didn't really get into it, like, training and all, until after my sixth birthday. a lot happened after i turned six." A floorboard creaks as she adjusts her weight, then breaks. Jania sinks to mid thigh," FUCK!"

"here. let me help," from my pocket i pull out a knife. She reaches into her boot and pulls out a knife too. i look at her knife and then at mine," Mine's bigger."

"are you trying to compensate for something?"

"kid, i'm twice your age."

"i have a boyfriend."

"Poor guy."

"that's not what he says." we start cutting the wood," What about you? any ladies that caught your eye and made you want to settle down?"

"...Nope."

"What was her name?"

"Who?"

"Winchester, i know that look. It's the same look my dad got when my mom had to go on a mission with my Aunt m'gann or aunt Zatanna or anyone. Like one of the few people he couldn't live without was gone forever. So, what was her name?"

"Lisa. Her name was Lisa and she had a kid, Ben."

"what happened to them?"

"Occupational hazard."

"yeah, i understand that." the wood falls away. i help her up. A few splinters in her leg, but she assures me she's had worse," we should g-"

"It's all your fault," Jania and i whirl around. Her breathing stops. i try to figure out who the hell i'm looking at. this a teenage girl, thirteen maximum, with dark red hair and dark eyes. her t-shirt is old and faded, with three bullet holes in her chest. she has an angry neutral face," it's all your fault, i should have let you die."

"No," i look over and see that Jania is crying silently," no, Lian, it's me. It's Jani."

"i should have let you die."

Jania takes a step forward, her voice breaking," it's me. Please, remember. you saved me."

"Jania," I pump the shotgun," get away from that thing."

"Please, Lee. It;s me," she's begging now. the ghost raises it's hand, which is never good. i tackle Jania and fire at the bitch. the ghost, not Jania," NO! YOU BASTARD! YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED HER!"

Jania's slipping into hysteria.i pin her arms down to keep her from hitting me," Listen to me. Whoever that was, it ain't them anymore. i didn't kill it, but i need to burn the remains or anything it had."

"She-she-she-" this girl is crying so hard at this point she can barely speak," she was cremated. her-her stuff b-b-b-b-burned in a fire years ago. p-please d-d-dean, don't hurt her."

"Ok, come on," I pick her up and carry her away, sobbing into my shirt. i find an abandoned corridor and force Jania to look at me," Who is she and what do you know about her?"

"Lian nguyen Harper. She was s-shot. her mom and my mom were close. she gave-gave me this bracelet." i look at her wrist. i can't help but notice the scars on her wrist, and the black beaded bracelet with a tiny silver j resting gently against them. i reach into my pocket, grabbing a lighter. i don't have time to arguing, so i snatch it of her wrist. Jania screams and claws at me. i kick her away. tossing some wood into a pile, i burn the bracelet. Jania attack her, beating her fist against my chest," NO! NO! DON'T! YOU KILLED HER! SHE ALREADY DIED ONCE BECAUSE OF ME! NOT AGAIN! NOT AGAIN!"

i throw her over my shoulder and carry her out the the door. Outside Sam and Cas pull up in the impala. Jania falls off my shoulder, with what can only be described as the most perfect 'i'm going to murder you' face. Pulling a knife from her other boot, she charges at me. i'll admit she got a decent sized cut in before sam and cas grabbed her arms. she screams and swears and-and cries. Sam had done a decent amount of research on her. in a lot of articles and shit, she never lost her cool or cried. it felt like i was watching a star collapse.

"Dean," Sam grunts," What the hell happened?"

"Ask her."

"You. Killed. Her. You. Motherfucking. Bastard."

"who's 'her'?" Sam looks at me like i have a fucking clue.

"some daughter of a lady her mom knew."

"MY COUSIN!" Jania Screams. she finally stops fighting and stands there, crying. Sam looks at her like he's never seen anyone cry before. Cas doesn't know one human emotion from another. i don't actually give a damn that this crazy chick tried to knife me, it's not the worse that a chick's ever done to me. i hug her, letting her break down for the first time in god know's how long," She was m-my cousin. i was- i was turning six and my brother was turning seven. our aunt Jade and uncle Roy came over and-and it was really warm for december so we were playing outside. Li-lian came out and gave us our gifts. Matt got some t-shirt that he burned when i was nine and i got that bracelet. she-she was my best friend and i didn't get along with kids my age. Lian said 'as long as you have this, no matter where i am or what i'm doing i will always be there, holding your hand.' i ran inside to show my mom and lian pushed me out of the way. i heard three gunshots. when i looked up, lian was bleeding on the ground and i held her while she died. It's my fault!"

she cries for a minute and hits her leg in frustration," it's not fair! it's not fair!"

"no," i sigh," it isn't. that ghost in there. that was just a lot of angry emotions. it's ok because i'm sure she'd be proud of you."

"Proud?" She pushes away from me," Dean, my parents are missing. i don't even know if they're alive or-or dead. my aunt was killed a year after they were taken. my uncle died when i was twelve. to make matters worse my grandfather is sportsmaster, and i can't talk to my other grandparents in fear that they'll be hurt. i have my brother and my friends, and they're all afraid of me. proud isn't a word in my vocabulary."

"Well it means," i cut Cas off before he goes super literal on her.

"look, i'm not going to act like i understand what you've gone through or what challenges you're going to face. the only thing i can tell you to do is to take a deep breath and do what you can to get through the day," i close my eyes and exhale slowly," it might help some days, but on the days that doesn't work, sleep."

"Sleep?"

"sleep. screw consciousness, that's what i say," she sniffle and wipes her nose on her arm.

"dean," Cas says," we have received intel on the whereabouts on crowley."

"Crowley? you mean the business looking, british accented douchebag?" Jania asks.

"You know him?" Sam asks.

"Yeah. he tried making a deal with us to get our parents back. i sent him straight to hell."

"Ok. i'm sorry but we have to go, Jania." Sam says. i don't want to go. i want to talk to jania and make sure she's going to be ok.

"Dean," Jania wipes her eyes and smiles," i'm ok. i'm always ok."

An idiot could see she wasn't ok, but i knew that smile too damn well. a smile that hid a multitude of pained emotions and memories that would keep her up to the wee hours of the night. i've given enough of those smiles to know what i'm talking about.

"We can drive you home at least," She raises an eyebrow and points to a t-shaped tower in the middle of the bay," or, um, maybe not."

"It's fine," She smiles," Parker is going to pick me up in a few hours. And it-it might be a good idea for me to have some time to myself. besides this building is listed for demolition and i have explosive arrows."

"well that seems like a healthy way to release your anger, rather than cutting yourself," Cas notes. Jania looks like he just slapped her across the face," And your parents are alive. i don't know where they are, but they are alive. they miss you and your brother."

i seriously doubt anyone will ever see a brighter smile from her. as we drive away, i can't help but look back. She's staring at the building like it's done some great injustice to her. i notice she falls to her knees and her body shakes as she cries. it was suppose to be a normal job, or as normal as it gets with us, but i have spent many nights wondering what happened to that bitchy archer. if she was alive or died in a fight. i couldn't stop wondering what happened to Jania West. but just like a normal job, we never went back to Jump City and i never heard from her again.


End file.
